Hillel of Silicon Valley :: Jewish Student Life on Campushttp://hillelsv.org
Jewish Student Life on CampusTue, 28 Jul 2015 18:46:17 +0000en-UShourly1Student Spotlight: Meet Joshua Villanueahttp://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-joshua-villanuea/
http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-joshua-villanuea/#commentsTue, 14 Apr 2015 19:23:39 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=3860Josh is a freshman at San Jose State University. He is the current president of the SJSU chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi.

Q: What is your favorite activity to partake in?
A: I love skateboarding. It’s a lot of fun and it’s super relaxing.

Q: If you could trade lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
A: I would probably trade lives with an Orthodox Rabbi. They almost always know the answers to every question someone could come up with and I would love to be that knowledgeable.

Q: What is your least favorite time of year and why?
A: My least favorite time of the year is the spring, I feel that there’s not much going besides a week of spring break, until summer comes around.

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?
A: I love brisket and I love the challah! Especially when I can have it with honey and grape juice. Always hits the spot.

Q: If you woke up tomorrow as an animal, what animal would you choose to be and why?
A: If I woke up as an animal, I would love to be a boxer dog because they are my favorite and they’re super friendly!

Q: What is the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?
A: This past weekend, I had a bonfire with fraternity brothers from AEPi and on Thursday (which we count as the weekend in college), we had an amazing brotherhood event.

Q: What is one food you wouldn’t want to give up?
A: I could never give up beef ribs, they’re amazing!

Q: What is your favorite thing about Hillel?
A: My favorite thing is that they’re always welcoming and ready to lend an open hand to anyone that needs it. They’re respectful of other beliefs, Jewish or not, and they educate people, not manipulate them, which is a positive step in a society where some organizations brainwash people with hate and animosity towards others.

Q: What item, that you don’t already have, would you most like to own?
A: A solid gold Star of David necklace would be awesome.

Q: What is your favorite place to travel too?
A: My favorite place to travel is to Israel, but I would also really love to visit Australia and Spain.

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http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-spencer-kinsey/#commentsTue, 10 Mar 2015 20:52:17 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=3585Spencer is a student at De Anza College and serves as Hillel’s De Anza Engagement Intern and co-president of The Tribe, De Anza’s Jewish student group!

Q: What activity always calms you down after a long day?
A: I like taking walks or working out. It helps relieve stress.

Q: If you could talk in your sleep, what would you be saying?
A: I would probably say, “Who are all these people and what are they doing in my dream?!”

Q: Who is your favorite superhero and why?
A: My favorite superhero is Patch. He’s my dog, and I think that says it all.

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?
A: Brisket! Any food is great, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone who helps cook dinner and makes Shabbat possible.

Q: If you were able to meet anyone in the world, who would it be and why?
A: If I could meet anyone, I would want it to be my mom’s dad. There’s so much I don’t know about him, and I would love to be able to learn about him and from him, or even just go fishing.

Q: What was the best thing that happened this past weekend?
A: Getting to talk with my brother!

Q: What is the worst job you could have?
A: Any job where I couldn’t make a difference.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about Hillel?
A: The people there make you feel like you matter. They really care and it shows every time I’m there.

Q: What is the first thing you notice about someone when you first meet them?
A: Their shoes.

Q: What is your favorite place to travel to?
A: I haven’t traveled a lot, but I’d love to go to France.

]]>http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-spencer-kinsey/feed/0Hillel in the Newshttp://hillelsv.org/hillel-in-the-news/
http://hillelsv.org/hillel-in-the-news/#commentsMon, 16 Feb 2015 21:01:11 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=3522Check out the article by Dan Pine of the JWeekly, who posted an article about our recent event with David Makovsky.

]]>http://hillelsv.org/hillel-in-the-news/feed/0Student Spotlight: Meet Sydney Litmanhttp://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sydney-litman/
http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sydney-litman/#commentsTue, 10 Feb 2015 22:05:23 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=3519Sydney is a second year business marketing student at San Jose State. She loves to go to concerts, craft, cook, and spend her free time with loved ones. She is a proud sister of Delta Zeta Sorority, and is the first year engagement intern for Hillel.

Q: What is your favorite activity to do that calms you down?
A: My favorite activity that calms me is crafting. I love creating new things.

Q: If you could talk in your sleep, what would you probably say?
A: If I could talk in my sleep, I would probably recite what I have planned for that day.

Q: Who is your favorite superhero and why?
A: My favorite superhero is my mom. She works, goes to school, and manages the house. I aspire to have her drive and focus.

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?
A: Challah and honey, definitely.

Q: If you were invisible, where would you go and what would you do?
A: If I were invisible, I would probably stay in my apartment and pull pranks on my roommates all day.

Q: What was the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?
A: I was able to get a position within my sorority.

Q: What is the worst job you could have?
A: Having to pet sit a tarantula.

Q: What is your favorite thing about Hillel?
A: That would have to be the community that the students have created there.

Q: What is the first thing you notice about someone when you first meet them?
A: The first thing I notice when I meet someone is their smile.

Q: What is your favorite place to travel to?
A: My favorite place to travel to is Hawaii. I love to relax on the beach and snorkel in the water.

]]>http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sydney-litman/feed/0Student Spotlight: Meet Maya Harlev!http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-maya-harlev/
http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-maya-harlev/#commentsTue, 27 Jan 2015 23:36:49 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=3505Maya is a second-year creative advertising student at San Jose State. She loves spending time with her family just as much as she loves spending time with her friends! She is a Grinspoon-Morningstar Fellow for the Israel on Campus Coalition and is also the Social Media intern for Hillel.

Q: What is your favorite activity to do that calms you down?
A: Netflix!

Q: If you could trade lives with anyone for a day, who would it be and why?
A: I would trade lives with my Mass Comm. professor because she calls herself Queen Dona and she is so much fun to learn from.

Q: What is your least favorite time of year and why?
A: I hate the winter because it’s cold — I need it to be at least 75 degrees all the time!

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinner?
A: Any potato dish.

Q: If you woke up tomorrow as an animal, what animal would you choose and why?
A: I would love to be an octopus because I think they are so cool and I love their tentacles.

Q: What was the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?
A: I had a really relaxing and spontaneous weekend that was really fun.

Q: What is one food you wouldn’t give up?
A: Macaroni and Cheese, yum!

Q: What is your favorite thing about Hillel?
A: If I’m sick, “Jewish Mother” Matt will make me soup, bring me tissues and a blanket, and make sure I’m okay.

Q: What item, that you don’t already own, would you most like to have?
A: I really want my own DSLR camera because I love taking pictures and I really want to take high quality photos!

Q: What is your favorite place to travel to?
A: I love going to Israel, but my favorite place that I’ve been so far is Barcelona!

Eric is a graduate student at San Jose State University in Educational Counseling. He grew up in the Bay Area, and did his undergraduate degree at San Jose State as well. He has been involved with Hillel for a long time, and won the Pillars award in 2012.

What is your favorite activity to do that calms you down?

The first thing that came to mind was singing in choir, but also just being around good people who are respectful is always helpful because I’m so extroverted.

If you could trade lives with anyone for a day who would it be and why?

Hugh Jackman definitely, because he’s the coolest actor and guy. He’s the kind of guy in Hollywood that shows up to the set with cupcakes or goodies for everyone.

What is one random fact that no one would know about you?

I’m a pretty good piano player!

If you could invent a holiday, what would it be and why?

I would combine every Jewish holiday into one and call it “Wine and Food Day”.

There would be way too much to talk about. I’d have a counseling session with him and Netanyahu and we would work out all of our silly, stupid issues.

What was the best thing that happened to you this past weekend?

I worked with the Next Shabbat dinner and we did a Pink Shabbat to raise awareness for breast cancer research and we focused on Jewish women’s relationship with breast cancer.

What is one food you wouldn’t want to give up?

All sauces– everything from pesto to marinara to alfredo to barbecue sauce. I put sauce all over all my food.

What is your favorite thing about Hillel?

Hillel brings me inspiration to find my Judaism and be a part of a family and also take responsibility to the world and be supportive of Israel.

]]>http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-eric-medeiros/feed/0Student Spotlight: Meet Jordan Taxonhttp://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-jordan-taxon/
http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-jordan-taxon/#commentsWed, 05 Nov 2014 18:13:25 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=2664Jordan is a junior at San Jose State majoring in Industrial Design, but is hoping to change his major to Industrial Studies. He is a brother of Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, and holds the positions of Jewish Identity and Hillel Chairs

.

Q: If you were a vegetable, what vegetable would you be?

A: I would be a carrot because I like carrots.

Q: If you could change your name to anything, what would it be and why?

A: Blue, it was my nickname in high school because I wore so many blue shirts.

Q: If you were famous what would you be famous for?

A: I would be famous for game design.

Q: If you could paint anything, what would you paint?

A: I would paint the earth from the moon, it seems really cool to me.

Q: What item in the world (that you don’t already have) do you want more than anything?

A: A Nintendo 3DS– I’m planning on getting one but it’s taking me a while to save up.

Q: What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?

A: I would have Osso Bucco!

Q: If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go and why?

A: I really want to see Japan– I’ve never been and it seems really fun.

Q: If you could swim in any liquid what would it be and why?

A: Liquid Helium– if anything swims in it and can survive, it could end up as glass.

Q: What is one food you wouldn’t want to give up?

A: Beef– doesn’t matter what kind, just beef!

Q: What is your favorite thing about Hillel?

A: I love that I can come any time and take naps, use the internet, and eat and no one will ask me any questions about it. It’s home.

Amber is a junior transfer student from San Luis Obispo studying Child and Adolescent Development. She loves all of the different people, different types of food, and being exposed to the different cultures in San Jose. She also loves to take her dog, Eddie, to the beach.

What is your favorite summer activity?

Anything involving water- swimming, going to the beach or the lake.

If you could trade lives with anyone for a day who would it be and why?

I would trade lives with Judith Resnick, who was the first Jewish-American woman in space, so I could see the Earth from the moon.

If you were famous what would you be famous for?

I would be famous for my shakshuka!

If you could paint anything, what would you paint?

I would paint a picture of the ocean.

What is your least favorite beverage?

I hate rum and really hoppy beer!

What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?

Cholent– because my grandma makes it and it makes me really nostalgic!

If you could talk to the President, what would you talk about?

I would ask him what his favorite country is to visit.

If you could swim in any liquid what would it be and why?

Jello, because it would feel really cool.

What is one food you wouldn’t want to give up?

Cheese in general.

What is your favorite thing about Hillel?

The first time I came in and I was super nervous, everyone came up and talked to me like I had known them forever. It’s a home away from home with good people and good food!

]]>http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-amber-artman/feed/0Student Spotlight: Meet Sarah Smithhttp://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sarah-smith/
http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sarah-smith/#commentsMon, 15 Sep 2014 18:33:47 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=2575Sarah is second year at San Jose State. She likes to bake, cook, craft, watch Netflix, and hang out with friends in her free time, as well as being active & playing sports.

If you could be any flavor of ice cream, what would you be and why?

Vanilla, because you can add to it– frozen gummy bears are my favorite

What would you do on mars for fun?

Tan because it’s the hottest planet, and I might actually get some type of tan

If you could get a yacht, what would you name it?

The laughing princess– that’s what my name in Hebrew means and I’m named after my grandfather

What is your least favorite beverage?

Seltzer water– I don’t like the bubbles

What is your favorite thing to eat at Shabbat dinners?

The first slice of Challah after the prayer- I stay quiet after the prayer until I’ve eaten the Challah

What fashion trend do you just not get?

Multiple patterns: it just doesn’t work

How old were you when you had the worst hair cut ever and what was it?

I had a bob with bangs until I was 10 and I hated it. I am now scarred and cannot have short hair

If you were a super hero what would your powers be?

Teleport and/or read people’s minds

If you could add a person to Mount Rushmore, who would it be and why?

Beyonce- she is such a strong female influence and there are already four men up there

What is your favorite thing about Hillel?

The community that we have here. I could see the bonds people had when I first came here, and I could tell that it was a safe place for people to come and relax, and that made me want to come back and be a part of it.

]]>http://hillelsv.org/student-spotlight-meet-sarah-smith/feed/0House a Student for the Holidayshttp://hillelsv.org/house-a-student-for-the-holidays/
http://hillelsv.org/house-a-student-for-the-holidays/#commentsFri, 05 Sep 2014 19:59:10 +0000http://hillelsv.org/?p=2552Every year, Jewish students in college face the troublesome task of trying to find a home for the High Holidays. This year, help a student out by opening your homes for the holiday. If you are willing and able to host a student for Rosh Hashanah Dinner, Yom Kippur dinner, or both, please email Matthew Lorch at matthew@hillelsv.org
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